xriva

https://www.ncl.com/specialty-dining-package/faq

Today's Terms & Conditions - and the FAQ. I didn't see a generic differentiation between ala carte and fixed-price, just named restaurants. Most of the ala carte restaurants are included and at the bottom is the note that additional entrees are $10 - which is my suspicion of where this entire thread began.

I have been in the Haven on the Breakaway (on her initial crossing from Southampton to NYC - the upgrade fairy called) and on the Epic from Miami to Barcelona (with my wife and Mom, so three in a two-bedroom suite.)

On a low-port itinerary - like a Transatlantic - I think it is absolutely worth it, as long as it's within a reasonable budget for you. We did a Transatlantic last year in a balcony (you know, with the riff-raff), because we could afford it and still take a Christmas cruise.

If we were on a port-intensive itinerary, I'm not sure I would spend the money, because you're off the ship so much. On the Transatlantics, we slept in, had a great espresso machine in the room (which the butler had to explain), ate in our private restaurant, and just lounged. It was fabulous.

This is how nice it was: I was pretty convinced I would never get my wife back into a "normal" balcony. It is not the place to start cruising, as everything else will seem lesser after it.

It was worth the upgrade fee. It was worth the amount we paid after we split it with Mom. It's not worth it for me every time - because I'd rather do two cruises a year than one expensive one every couple of years.

One of he restaurant managers on the Jade told us people double-book every night and then decide where they want to go each evening. It annoyed me that people would do that, because it may be "playing the game" but it's harming other passengers' ability to dine when they want.

He did say they do keep tables open for walk-ups, so we'll see what happens on our February cruise, because we don't have something booked every night.

I noticed your comment about not getting advance reservations because you're a party of three. There doesn't seem to be a way to make reservations for three, always seems to be even numbers. Many mention making your reservations for four and have a no show on board or make the change on board.

Thanks! Someone had mentioned that would work, and having a party of four at Le Bistro (at least) gives many more time options than a party of three. I'm not sure why, since a party of three takes up a four-top, anyway.

I don't think all bad reviews can be prevented - if you have a system where options are documented (booking dinners in advance, checking rates online, reading passenger contracts) and people don't bother to do any research, what is a company supposed to do?

There are so many complaints here that are just people not reading documents, not paying attention to options, not understanding the difference between a travel provider and a travel agent, not understanding the basics of cruising - all of which is easily accessible online - that there is no easy fix.

If someone couldn't get reservations for 12 with ten minutes notice onboard, they're going to be annoyed. They will come here (after they find it) and complain. Someone will suggest they should have booked online. They will ask how they were supposed to know that was an option. Then, all the anti-NCL team shows up, and if anyone dares to suggest that they might have wanted to plan ahead, or read the cruise documents, they will be shouted down as "NCL fanboys".

It's one of the reasons Cruise Critic is much less useful then it could be.

NCL provides a product. Some people like it. Some people don't. Some people have vacations colored by all sorts of things that the cruise line has no control over. It's very frustrating to those of us who do like the product to see the company possibly libeled over issues completely out of their control.

Seriously. You're on vacation. I had one trip where the WiFi was down - not slow, it wasn't working - for two days. You know what I did? I didn't check my email. I'm still alive.

:( Pretty sad when people don't take the time to enjoy the beauty of the their surroundings when cruising because they are so caught up in their devices...

When Wifi and cell service is finally made 100% reliable I will give up cruising completely...

Yeah I'm old...

I don't mind people looking down at their devices the whole time, but people waving their iPads in the air, trying to take photos is pretty annoying.

You do miss seeing a lot while you're trying to take photos!

A friend and I were looking at booking a Feb 28 cruise on NCL solely because of Harvest Caye. I guess we shouldn't take the chance and look at other options.

 

What do y'all think?

We're on the Feb 27th sailing on the Jade, which is still showing Harvest Caye. I'm waiting for the shoe to drop, actually. There are a couple of cruises before us that are supposed to call there, so I supposed we'll know before we leave, even if it's not announced. However, I'm surprised we haven't been told yet - we were told very early on that our Christmas cruise was going to Belize City instead of Harvest Caye.

NCL's worst enemy are the people with completely unreasonable expectations who then get home and complain incessantly about their "bad cruise."

There should be a sticky topic on all cruise line boards that says, "Please remember that your cruise line does not control the weather, the tides, the political situation in any ports or your travel agent's ability to get you a cabin worth sixteen times the one you actually paid for as a free upgrade. The cruise line also does not control the whining of other passengers or the inability of people to follow well-documented procedures for booking, payment or complaint resolution."

I do not understand the constant whining about the WiFi. I've used WiFi on every cruise I've taken (11 so far, all NCL) and it has always been acceptable for my needs. It's not like my cable Internet at home, but I don't expect it to be. I don't try to watch YouTube, I'm not trying to Skype with family back home, I'm just checking email and texts. We had one Transatlantic where the WiFi was down for a couple of days, so I didn't use the Internet. Problem solved.

We couldn't get reservations at the times we prefer in advance for our next cruise because we're a party of three (Mom's going along) instead of two, so we will see what we can do onboard. If we have to wait, we will wait. We were told on our last cruise that not all seats are available for reservations, so we will try walk-up. If it's not available, we can wait or go to another restaurant. It is not going to ruin my vacation.

People do not come to Cruise Critic to applaud great service. They come here to complain.

If I were a first-time cruiser, many of the reports here would give me pause, until I realized that the most negative comments were from three or four people, and they were the same comments over and over.

Visit http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2293811 - I thought I was having deja vu.

Also, with Uber, you choose the size car you want. We had two couples, which means two women's worth of baggage. So, we asked for an SUV. The smaller Uber choices are cheaper.

I thought I understood this but am doubtful now after reading some conflicting posts. My husband and I are cruising 1/10/16 on Star and chose the $50 excursion credit; our son is with us and he is free. It was my understanding that we get essentially $50 per person (NOT including my son) credit. Another post said per "stateroom. I booked excursions through NCL and they said I would have to obtain the credit through the excursion desk. (E.g currently it says we ow the full price of the excursions, we will get discounted on the ship. No mention of whether it was $50 pp or per stateroom as I didn't think to ask) Thoughts?

 

 

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It may depend on when you booked, but the current Excursion credit is per stateroom, not per person.

Has anyone had any experience using Uber from a MIA Airport Hotel to the Port of Miami? How long did it take for the car to arrive? How much did you pay for the trip? I'm trying to weigh all the options for transportation from our pre-cruise hotel to the port for my upcoming cruise on the Escape. Thanks!

We used Uber from an airport hotel to the port, and it was about $50, I think. However, the driver stopped at a convenience store so my sister-in-law wanted to buy Coke for the cruise, and that was off-meter.

We took a cab the night before to go to Joe's Stone Crabs, and the ride and driver were so bad, I downloaded the Uber app to get a ride home.

The app will tell you how long it will take for your car to arrive. I usually look at the app before we're ready to go, to see how long it will be.

On most of my cruises, if I wanted to apply damp heat to a shirt, I just put it on and went onto my balcony!

They don't have to go to the buffet after boarding - one of the main dining rooms will be serving lunch.

You can always join them in the MDRs (or the specialities) for meals. You can make reservations earlier than most because you have a suite, and you can make reservations for four.

We were just on the Jade at Christmas and the Quest was scheduled. It's been on most of the Norwegian ships we've sailed, although I'm not sure it was on the Breakaway-class ships or the Epic. It's listed in the Freestyle daily, usually the last night. It's supposed to be adults-only, so it's not advertised as much as some events. (As in, I've been on cruises where staff was constantly chasing teenagers out of the "adult" comedy show, and parents were bringing children into Howl at the Moon late.)

One hint - If they ask for a sock with a hole in it, take any sock you have - if it didn't have a hole, you couldn't get your foot into it :) (I don't wear socks on vacation, so we lost that point.)

Here's why I wanted to go to a private island: I don't scuba dive and I'm not really that interested in going back to Altun Ha, so Belize City doesn't really entice me as a port. The one city tour excursion was short and expensive. My wife will snorkel, but she has a bad shoulder, so she wants to go off the beach, not off a boat. So, that means most of the snorkeling in Belize is out, and there is one beach excursion which says snorkeling is forbidden ( I'm still trying to figure that one out.)

Harvest Caye has a snorkel excursion, from the beach. So, that was a good excursion for us.

She loved GSC, and I figured this would be similar. I'm not sure that's true, and it may not be ready by our February cruise, anyway.

While I'm in favor of going out and meeting the locals, I've heard a lot about safety (or lack thereof) in Belize City, and my wife has a much lower adventure threshold than I do, so we probably wouldn't venture out in our own. So, it's a wasted stop for us, and we've been there twice already.

A private island is a private beach, food and drink without cash, and a controlled environment. While that seems "Disney" to some, it may be preferable to wandering into the wrong neighborhood and meeting the wrong locals.

I'm sure Belize City is a lovely place if you do your research, have a local trusted guide and a plan, but that's a lot of work just for a vacation. I'd rather just have a beach, some snorkel gear, and a drink or two.

Does anyone know which beach this is?

Does anyone know WHY it would say' date=' "Snorkeling from the beach is not permitted"? We aren't snorkelers, but I just don't get this.

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Thank you for asking! I thought the same thing when we were planning our Christmas cruise. How do they stop people from snorkeling? You can't look down while you're swimming?

My wife usually has our passports in her bag - along with towels, cover-ups and other necessities. We use a locker at the excursion while we're in the water.

We always leave our valuables in the room safe. When I lock my wallet away, I'm on vacation! However, do carry a small amount of cash - small bills - in case there's someone you need to tip.

You declared the free wine you brought home? I never declare it. I usually bring home 3 bottles. I didn't purchase it so I don't owe taxes on it -as a matter of fact I am sure that NCL already paid for the wine and the taxes!

I never said I declared it. I also never said I didn't. Just in case :)

I did assume free was not taxable but decided not to go ask.

Oh, and don't forget with the platinum certificate you also get a bottle of wine free so even with the UDP or the SDP, bring that certificate - if not for the meal itself for the bottle of wine. You can drink it there or of you have the UBP you can have them deliver that bottle of wine to your cabin and enjoy it there.

 

Harriet

That would work if my wife enjoyed wine :) I'm not going to drink a bottle by myself (unless it was a really bad day - which doesn't happen on a cruise!), and I can't be bothered tracking bottles around the ship - which my Mom does when she travels with us.

This time, Mom is along, so we will get the wine. Of course, she's got the UBP on her reservation, so it doesn't really matter :)

We finally brought two bottles home with us last trip, only to find Texas charges tax on liquor and cigarettes brought in.

I need to figure out how to trade a bottle of wine for mixed drinks. Then, all would be good.

Kevin

Harriet -

To me, the four-night SDP is better than UDP exactly because we can use our other perks - the Latitudes perk and the stockholder perk, and save some money, since the SDP is included. Beforehand, we would never get to use them, because we either had UDP included or we paid for it because it was the only option.

I take it you have never had dealing with trying to build or have products made outside of the US. Sometimes its not that easy. How many people here have ever had a house built in the US? Builder tells you 6-7 months, turns into 12-14 months. Weather, materials, cost overruns......always add to delays. You can keep crying about it but nothing is going to change, its done when its done

I'm not crying about it.

I'll just go to Belize City - although we're sailing in February and haven't been told Harvest Caye is not open yet, and we can book excursions for it.

We booked this Jade cruise after just doing the same cruise for Christmas and one of the factors was Harvest Caye.

Yes, there are all sorts of overruns. However, eventually you have to stop promising something you can't deliver anywhere near on time, and only schedule calls there when it's done.

Six months is late. A year is late. A year with "we hope" is somebody clueless at the head of the project.

A more critical issue with free drinks and dining is that you are now charged the 18% gratuity that is charged with the package. I think our free drinks were $80 each. The gratuities used to be included.

That said, I don't understand the disparity in published costs ("value" is relative) for the choices. We will use 250 minutes of WiFi, so we'd have to buy more, and it costs $125. The dinner package is $87.32 for four meals. The excursions are $50 per cabin per day, and you can't combine them. Booze is $528. For you do the math, the booze gets you the most "value", unless you don't drink at all.

To me, it's a question of which I will actually use. I would not drink $500 worth of drinks, and it's not worth $500 to have unlimited. It is worth $80 to have unlimited.

I will eat in the specialities - almost every night. So, I will pay gratuity and tax to get four nights in the specialties, then use my Platinum dinners. (This is an improvement from UDP.)

So, nothing is free but it just looks like they're trying to get people to choose booze.

I just checked MyNCL for reservations on the Jade in February and Teppenyaki has parties of 2 or 4 only. We have three. Oops.

NCL is dealing with an almost 3rd world country. You can't put all the blame on them

I would think they control the contractors, if not the subcontractors.

It's not like they're trying to build a island starting at the ocean's floor - they're adding infrastructure to an existing island. The locals may have environmental concerns, and the government may cause permit delays, but the Norwegian project manager should be fired.